Mateo Retegui
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-04-29) 29 April 1999 (age 24)[1]
Place of birth San Fernando, Argentina
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Genoa
Number 19
Youth career
0000–2016 River Plate
2016–2018 Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2023 Boca Juniors 1 (0)
2019–2020 → Estudiantes (loan) 21 (4)
2020–2021 → Talleres (loan) 24 (4)
2022–2023 → Tigre (loan) 48 (30)
2023– Genoa 22 (6)
International career‡
2018 Argentina U19
2023– Italy 4 (2)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Italy
UEFA Nations League
Third place 2023 Netherlands
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:59, 17 March 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2023

Mateo Retegui (born 29 April 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Genoa. Born in Argentina, he plays for the Italy national team.[3] He is nicknamed "il Re tigre" ("the tiger king").[4]

Early life

Retegui was born and raised in Argentina. His maternal grandfather Angelo Dimarco emigrated to Argentina from Canicattì, Sicily. His father's grandparents on one side of the family were also Italian, specifically from Genoa, while the others were Basque.

He is the son of former field hockey player Carlos Retegui, who represented Argentina as a player and coach at various Pan American Games and Olympic Games.[5] His sister Micaela is also an Olympian in the sport.

Club career

Retegui began his senior career with Boca Juniors, who signed him years prior from River Plate.[6][5] He was first promoted into the club's first-team by manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto during the 2017–18 Argentine Primera División season, appearing as an unused substitute on occasions against Arsenal de Sarandí and Estudiantes in December 2017.[3][7] His professional debut arrived on 17 November 2018, with the forward being substituted on for the final moments of a 1–0 home win over Patronato.[3]

January 2019 saw Retegui loaned to Estudiantes for eighteen months.[2][3] He appeared eight times in 2018–19, before scoring five goals in twenty-one appearances in 2019–20.[3]

In February 2022, Retegui joined Tigre on a loan deal until the end of 2023.[8]

On 26 July 2023, Retegui joined Serie A club Genoa on a five-year deal,[9] for a reported fee of €15 million.[10] On 11 August 2023, he scored his first two goals for the club in a Coppa Italia match against Serie B side Modena.

International career

Retegui represented Argentina at U19 and U20 level, including for the latter at the 2018 South American Games.[11][12]

Being eligible to play for Italy through descent, in February 2023 it was reported Retegui was pre-selected by Roberto Mancini to join the Azzurri team for the first UEFA Euro 2024 qualification games.[13] Retegui received his first official call up to the Italy national team on 17 March 2023,[14] and proceeded to score in his international debut on 23 March against England in a Euro 2024 qualifying match lost 2–1 in Naples.[15] He would tally again in his subsequent appearance on 26 March, netting the winner in a 2–0 win over Malta in a Euro 2024 qualifier in Ta' Qali,[16] to become the first player to score in his first two competitive matches for the national side since Pierino Prati accomplished the feat in 1968.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 March 2024[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Boca Juniors 2017–18 Argentine Primera División 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0
2018–19 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 1 0
Estudiantes (loan) 2018–19 Argentine Primera División 3 0 1 0 — — 4[c] 0 8 0
2019–20 18 4 3 1 — — — 21 5
Total 21 4 4 1 — — 4 0 29 5
Talleres (loan) 2020 — 2 0 11 1 — — 13 1
2021 Argentine Primera División 24 4 4 0 14 2 6[d] 0 — 48 6
Total 24 4 6 0 25 3 6 0 — 61 7
Tigre (loan) 2022 Argentine Primera División 27 19 1 0 13 3 — 1[e] 1 42 23
2023 21 11 1 0 — 6[d] 1 — 28 12
Total 48 30 2 0 13 3 6 1 1 1 70 35
Genoa 2023–24 Serie A 22 6 2 2 — — — 24 8
Career total 116 44 14 3 38 6 12 1 5 1 185 55
  1. ^ Includes Copa Argentina and Coppa Italia
  2. ^ Includes Copa de la Liga Profesional
  3. ^ Appearances in Copa de la Superliga
  4. ^ a b Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  5. ^ Appearance in Trofeo de Campeones

International

As of match played 12 September 2023[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Italy 2023 4 2
Total 4 2
Italy score listed first, score column indicates score after each Retegui goal.[18]
List of international goals scored by Mateo Retegui
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 23 March 2023 Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy 1  England 1–2 1–2 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [19]
2 26 March 2023 National Stadium, Attard, Malta 2  Malta 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [20]

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ UEFA.com. "Mateo Retegui - Italy - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Mateo Retegui, de jugar en la Selección argentina de hockey a ser refuerzo de Estudiantes". 0221. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Argentina - M. Retegui". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Genoa, il Re tigre e il Folletto: la coppia Retegui-Gudmunsson che fa sognare i tifosi rossoblù". ilsecoloxix.it. ilsecoloxix.it. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Hockey? No, fútbol! Quién es Mateo Retegui, el hijo del ex-DT de Los Leones?". Goal. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Estoy cumpliendo el sueño de mi papá". Olé. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Conocé a Mateo Retegui, el juvenil que se perfila como titular en Boca". TyC Sports. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  8. ^ TIGRE HIZO OFICIAL LA LLEGADA DE MATEO RETEGUI, elgrafico.com.ar, 8 February 2022
  9. ^ "Mateo Retegui è un giocatore del Genoa" [Mateo Retegui is a Genoa player] (in Italian). Genoa CFC. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  10. ^ "CALCIOMERCATO - UFFICIALE: MATEO RETEGUI È UN NUOVO GIOCATORE DEL GENOA. OPERAZIONE DA OLTRE 15 MILIONI. SORRIDE MANCINI" [TRANSFER MARKET - OFFICIAL: MATEO RETEGUI IS A NEW GENOA PLAYER. OPERATION WORTH OVER 15 MILLION. MANCINI SMILES]. Eurosport. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Argentina superó 3-0 al Shandong Luneng". AFA. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  12. ^ "La Selección se entrenó por la tarde". AFA. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Bomber Retegui dice sì all'Italia grazie al nonno di Canicattì: "È un onore e un orgoglio"" (in Italian). Fanpage.it. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Nazionale, Mancini chiama l'argentino Retegui. Prima anche Falcone e Buongiorno" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. ^ "ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL WIN ON RECORD NIGHT FOR KANE AND RONALDO".
  16. ^ "🔥 Retegui has had zero issues settling into life with the Azzurri". OneFootball. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  17. ^ Campanale, Susy (26 March 2023). "Video: Retegui first to score in both first competitive games since 1968". Football Italia. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Mateo Retegui". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Italy vs. England 1–2: Summary". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Malta vs. Italy 0–2: Summary". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2023.

External links

Genoa CFC – current squad
Argentine Primera División top scorers
Categories